Backup Crew

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; landing
130 km east of Dzheskasgan.

Originally Konstantin
Feoktistov was assigned for this mission but was grounded a
few days prior launch due to medical problems.

The
Soyuz-T was a major upgrade over previous
Soyuz spacecraft, sporting solid-state electronics for
the first time and a much more advanced onboard computer to help overcome the
chronic docking problems that affected cosmonauts during space station
missions. In addition, solar panels returned, allowing the
Soyuz-T to fly up to 11 days independently as well as
a redesigned propulsion system. Finally, it could at last carry three
cosmonauts with pressure suits.

Following a one day solo flight
Soyuz T-3 docked with the
Salyut 6 space station on November 28, 1980.
Soyuz T-3 was the first Soviet mission with three
cosmonauts on board since 1971. Part of their mission was to further test the
Soyuz-T.

Main goals of the mission were
overhauling and reactivating of the space station. Maintenance work on
the station was also done. The crew conducted the Mikroklimat experiment to
assess the station's living conditions, and began work on the thermal control
system. They also installed a new hydraulic unit with four pumps, replaced
electronics in the
Salyut 6 telemetry system, repaired electrical system
faults and replaced computer in the onboard control system.

During their
brief stay on
Salyut 6, they performed the usual experiments using
the Splav and Kristall units, and studied biological objects they
brought with them in
Soyuz-T 3. They used the Svetoblok and Oazis units.
Much of their time, however, was devoted to space station
maintenance.

The crew had to work on scientific experiments including
holografic record of photographies, experiments on the fields of Earth
observation, medicine, materials science and biology, using a so called
"greenhouse", which was the most interesting part for the media.

On
December 8, 1980 Progress 11 carried out an orbit correction for the
complex.

The
Soyuz spacecraft is composed of three elements
attached end-to-end - the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the
Instrumentation/Propulsion Module. The crew occupied the central element, the
Descent Module. The other two modules are jettisoned prior to re-entry. They
burn up in the atmosphere, so only the Descent Module returned to
Earth.Having shed two-thirds of its mass, the
Soyuz reached Entry Interface - a point 400,000 feet
(121.9 kilometers) above the Earth, where friction due to the thickening
atmosphere began to heat its outer surfaces. With only 23 minutes left before
it lands on the grassy plains of central Asia, attention in the module turned
to slowing its rate of descent.Eight minutes later, the spacecraft was
streaking through the sky at a rate of 755 feet (230 meters) per second. Before
it touched down, its speed slowed to only 5 feet (1.5 meter) per second, and it
lands at an even lower speed than that. Several onboard features ensure that
the vehicle and crew land safely and in relative comfort.Four parachutes,
deployed 15 minutes before landing, dramatically slowed the vehicle's rate of
descent. Two pilot parachutes were the first to be released, and a drogue chute
attached to the second one followed immediately after. The drogue, measuring 24
square meters (258 square feet) in area, slowed the rate of descent from 755
feet (230 meters) per second to 262 feet (80 meters) per second.The main
parachute was the last to emerge. It is the largest chute, with a surface area
of 10,764 square feet (1,000 square meters). Its harnesses shifted the
vehicle's attitude to a 30-degree angle relative to the ground, dissipating
heat, and then shifted it again to a straight vertical descent prior to
landing.The main chute slowed the
Soyuz to a descent rate of only 24 feet (7.3 meters)
per second, which is still too fast for a comfortable landing. One second
before touchdown, two sets of three small engines on the bottom of the vehicle
fired, slowing the vehicle to soften the landing.